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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Boston Red Sox today acquired catcher Michael McKenry from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed pitcher Daniel Turpen. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated catcher Mark Wagner for assignment.

The announcements were made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

McKenry, 26, spent the 2010 season with Colorado’s Triple-A Colorado Springs club before making his Major League debut in September, appearing in six games overall with the Rockies and making one start at catcher. With Colorado Springs, he hit .265 (92-for-347) with 23 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs and 49 RBI in 99 games. McKenry’s 94 games behind the plate tied for the most in the Pacific Coast League and he led league backstops with 691 total chances, 624 putouts and 60 assists. He threw out 23 of 80 attempted base stealers (29 percent), fifth among PCL leaders. Selected by the Rockies in the seventh round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, McKenry owns a .265 average (465-for-1758) with 127 doubles, 66 home runs, 287 RBI, 262 runs and 229 walks in 491 career minor league games. He hit two home runs and collected four RBI in 11 Spring Training games with the Rockies this year.

Turpen, 24, was returned to the Red Sox from the Yankees on March 13 per Rule 5 draft rules. He split the 2010 season between the Boston and San Francisco organizations, combining to go 7-6 with four saves and a 4.30 ERA (33 ER/69.0 IP) in 49 relief appearances between Double-A Richmond and Double-A Portland, including a 2-1 mark with three saves and a 4.91 ERA (10 ER/18.1 IP) in 12 outings with Portland after he was traded to the Red Sox on July 31 for right-hander Ramon Ramirez. Selected by San Francisco in the eighth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, Turpen is 16-12 with a 2.86 ERA (76 ER/239.0 IP) and 198 strikeouts compared to 81 walks in 156 career minor league relief appearances in the Giants and Red Sox systems.

Wagner, 26, was limited to 36 games with Triple-A Pawtucket in 2010 due to two trips to the disabled list, hitting .205 (26-for-127) with five doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored for the PawSox. Selected by Boston in the ninth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, he has a career .264 average (433-for-1640) with 41 home runs and 245 RBI in 451 minor league games in the Red Sox system.